Caster Semenya: "I know I'm a girl, I have nothing to hide" | Pippa Hudson

Caster Semenya - someone whose achievements on the athletics track have brought her medals, world titles and international acclaim - but also a place in intrusive newspaper headlines, invasive tests and humiliating speculation.
Semenya did not set out wanting her life to be the subject of international rumour - all she wanted to do was run, and in her her new book The Race to be Myself, she opens up for the first time about the high price she's had paid for pursuing that dream.
Caster Semenya sits down with Pippa Hudson to take a deep dive into her latest book 'The Race to be Myself'.
This interview originally aired on 23 November 2023.
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[@zedmarlen]

All sports are divided into categories so that competition is fair. Heavy weight boxers do not compete against light weights. Swimmers with two legs do not compete against swimmers with one leg. Twelve year olds do not compete against twenty year old people. In most sports, men do not compete against women... No fault of his/her own, but Caster Semenya should not be competing against women who are biologically female, since clearly, he/she is not. This situation is sad, but it's not unfair. What is unfair is when athletes who are not biologically female compete against those who are. Period.

[@bigman2637]

Semenya is 100% man with XY chromosomes.

[@lisaspics1127]

As you said it’s not fault of her own that she was born with DSD. She was born with a vagina and raised as a girl. That’s not her fault. But I do agree that she has an advantage over other females because of it. So how do we fix that and be fair about it? Is it fair to not allow her to compete? What if she sucked? Would it have been an issue would we even be discussing this? I would be upset if she ran against my daughters because she does have advantages that they do not have on the other hand I would be upset if she was my daughter and was discriminated against because of her condition. It’s a Catch-22.

[@user-xx6bu6xx8m]

Hi Caster .This young lady has gone throug so much about her sexuality, heaven only knows how she could remain so calm and retain her mental health. Good luck Caster, lots of LOVE im a big fan of yours. Johnny.

[@evelynwanjuki2936]

Thank you, Miss Caster for being a Wise Woman.

[@bigman2637]

Semenya is 100% man with XY chromosomes.

[@PVTNS]

Thank you for telling your story as your know and experienced it Caster.

[@ThandekaNyangasya-ds3xf]

U are a Gift from God Caster, May God Bless u More, remain calm& strong, never give up on anything, u went thru a lot, # ubanqobile

[@KarenLeighMarais]

A gift from God. Thank you.

[@teetsambo7933]

Thank u so much for this powerful interview. Castor your a blessing and the God lives in you. This is part of your purpose. May we as Africans give you the support you need as this is for all of us.

[@bigman2637]

Don’t blasphemy God with this abomination. Semenya is 100% man with XY chromosomes.

[@PatienceMpofu-ge2tq]

Thank you Caster stand still

[@user-ov1me9do6l]

You are a superstar girl

[@beverleyfoster2872]

He is married to a woman...they have two children.

[@cambridge384]

What??? 29:01 "If I was a woman that produce a sperm to produce a seed, I would say yes and walk away because it gives me advantage." Did Castor get sperm tested? How would Castor know if sperm does not produce a seed? Women don't have the anatomy to produce sperm.

[@bigman2637]

Semenya is 100% man with XY chromosomes.

[@lifewithguguandvuyo]

Caster was not disabled. What other category could they have made up for her besides participating with women as she is also one🥺.

[@lrebsten7155]

If anyone knows her story they would understand. She was born in a third world country - and if you are born with a visible vagina in a third world country, you are a girl. And her voice was probably higher as a young child and when she missed her period, her family probably thought it was because she was training very hard - gymnastics never get their period until after they retire. (Look at Nadia Comaneci- she got her period and actually got taller after she stopped competition). In Western countries people may rush to the gynecologist if their child is not menstruating- but probably not if their child is a gymnast. The first time she ever went to a gynecologist was when she was 18 and the IOC sent here - she never even knew what that kind of doctor was. Everyone wants to apply First World Country concepts to the Third World. Many women never see a gynecologist in third world countries and never see an Obstetrician until they are in the delivery room of a hospital - it is too expensive. She has XY chromosomes, but she her body did not fully masculinize in the womb after the first trimester as XY males do. -She is genetically male. -But she is Phenotypically female/male- vaginal canal, testes, no uterus or fallopian tubes. -And her gender (social construct) is female. Everyone starts as a female and those with XY chromosomes starts to develop male characteristics after the second month. (That’s why male genitalia does not show on a sonogram until after the second month - only a genetic test before the third month can tell XY). And XY does not always lead to an XY male Phenotype. There is Klienfelters Syndrome and many other genetic disorders. Not everyone in the population is XY or XX. .08% of the world population can be XO XXY XXX And some people never know their true sex type, unless it shows in their phenotype.

[@sokadimkpa3423]

She /he may be born with conflicting features but inside him his a man Nd prefer to date women or married to a woman but when it comes to sports he wants to compete with women dsts unfire

[@NQA1209]

Caster would have closed this debate at its beginning if she was a woman but he couldn't

[@maryanyone]

There is a whole lot of bad in this. My points: - Firstly, and most importantly, being a woman is not a feeling or an upbringing or a way of dressing. Randomly claiming womanhood on those bases is absolutely misogynistic and diminishing. - Yes, the sporting body handled this abhorrently... but so did Caster and his team! At puberty, the whole family must have known that this individual did not meet female markers. Did the family check with a gyne as to why there was no period, why a deep voice and a masculine physique developed, etc? - We know now that this is not only about testosterone, though that was the marker most referenced in the early days. Caster keeps talking about studies in sports science and anatomy but spews nonsense of those who have not. A Y chromosome leads to a stronger physique and muscles, better oxygen synthesization etc etc. Then, the gyne used birth control pills to modify his testosterone levels... and told him that this is not made for his body. What else is there to question here?! - This is no story of survival beyond the odds; this is someone who is trying to circumvent the rules. He represents himself a being born without a uterus etc. Well, that's what one will classify as a man! And he has testes, though they are internal!! What he has is a condition that caused his external male sex organs to not develop. That does not negate maleness! If you are born with a Y chromosome and male gonads, you are a male! - This has nothing to do with Asians and Africans being a threat. A look at the history books will show that there were instances with Europeans and Americans decades ago. What I think is that the first world countries have better testing so are currently able to identify these occurrences early in life. - There are never going to be any categories that will have equal participants! I keep saying that the identical Pliskova twins in tennis have had very different results. I wonder, if the family had misrepresented his age and he was out there with a beard saying he is 12, would we feel the same sympathy even as there are children who outperform adults in athletics. - He is asking that women make decisions for women. Well, women have! Look at how the other athletes responded with horror when Gold, Silver and Bronze in the 800m in Rio went to three DSD athletes. Look at that horror of having Fraser-Price, someone who had a baby and, with more dedication and determination than he speaks of, was able to qualify for the Olympics... and was not able to get the bronze because of someone who came in with a physical advantage. Shame!! And don't conflate silence with the fact that women have been silenced, including with the trans movement. - Sex matters. Women have rights... and those are not the same as Caster Semenya's rights! Sebastian Coe did not go far enough with DSDs is what I think! Funny that these calls for classification because of difference in sex development are never a problem in men's sports. I wonder why?! Like I say with transgenders, advocate for your own categories and stop oppressing women!

[@di5cr3t3]

Well pointed out. People cannot fathom XX and XY vs sex aneuploidies and hormonal pathologies that blur the lines of external binary sex characteristics. I think it is a matter of IQ and understanding objective facts vs. EQ that panders to the varying subjectivity of emotion. if we apply the very basics XX vs XY and then sub-characterise- we can simplify this mess. Caster has a medical condition- 5 alpha reductase deficiency. The average virtue signaler needs to fathom this before getting on their soap box. She has male chromosomes and male hormones. Her case is sad, her developmental milestones were missed.

[@user-ms2ic7nc3i]

You people are wicked

[@maryanyone]

@@user-ms2ic7nc3i How so?

[@di5cr3t3]

@@user-ms2ic7nc3i you people? Define wicked. A discussion/commentary is not wicked.

[@deloresc8798]

Here's my question...was he born with women's body parts? Is he intersex? Whats the real deal? And i don't want to hear that its not my business! If he/she is doing interviews concerning this matter then all questions are valid.

[@ThabiThabi]

Why are you so hateful? She was born intersex. This is not a case of "identifying" as female. She's not transgender!!! She was born this way! Why attack her?

[@empressdiva3031]

Am with you on this one we need proper answers

[@jasonseaton3905]

Yes she was born as a woman she born with a vagina

[@di5cr3t3]

5 alpha reductase deficiency- read up

[@bigman2637]

Semenya is 100% man with XY chromosomes.

[@tvs9978]

Can he stop rtying to convince us he's a woman. Hes clearly a man. This thing of I'm a masculine woman is nonsense.

[@AndaniThakhani]

A man born with a vagina?

[@bigman2637]

Semenya is 100% man with XY chromosomes.

[@trustingnobody628]

No comment, kum shame. I don't know what I don't know.

[@bigman2637]

Semenya is 100% man with XY chromosomes.

[@dr.donitalester8520]

This is a strength that comes from God that I see in Caster Semenya.

[@bigman2637]

Don’t blasphemy God with this abomination. Semenya is 100% man with XY chromosomes.

[@Angel-yz1hw]

What does this supposed to mean.is God tired

[@kiimmaritz2827]

0:05 0:07 0:09 more caster oil..but it's a man..got such a lot of money in a deceitful way..shame shame shame

[@amehka5416]

Most African women who aren't biracial look like males.... especially in Nigeria, Ghana, Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Togo, Sudan, and the ones in Jamaica and Haiti as well.

[@cliasta9614]

😂😂 you are crazy.

[@sibusisomaphumulo2047]

Most nonsensical statement I've read in months, and this says alot considering the drivel spewed here on these interwebs.

[@jasonseaton3905]

You are so crazy for saying that so you are saying all Jamaican look like males and the other countries I am a Jamaican and the women that are here are so beautiful we won miss world and universe so many times so I can't understand your statement don't talk about things you don't know thank you.

[@Mythical11111]

😂😂😂 you are so wrong for this.

[@calikeisha365]

If that’s the case can we say on the flip side most men from European countries that aren’t biracial look like females?